w. if you listen to what paul ryan says in public and interviews and what romney surrogates say, they'll downplay expectations and say obama's a great orator and so on buif you talk to romney people in private, and they have been quoted in background pieces in the last few days, they'll say look, we're losing, this is a good chance to change the dynamic so he needs to step up. >> charles blow, how does he step up? because there is this conundrum. he's not very likeable to the electorate from all the polls, even today, obama is way ahead on likability. he doesn't have that ready reagan kind of charm. but he's got to exude some of that, i think, at the same time he's got to beat up barack obama verbally so that everyone goes away thinking romney won. how does he do both? >> well, i don't know how he does both. i don't believe he's capable of doing both. i do think you're right to put it in two parts which is one, he has to dig himself out of the hole that he has put himself in. with the ga